The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Vera’s
finally gotten her life on track. After years of working as Ellie’s house
cleaner, she’s enrolled in college. Her difficult son, Mikey, has a scholarship
to one of the top schools in London. Vera’s still living in Ellie’s house,
where she helps care for Rose, Ellie’s aging housekeeper. The last thing she
needs is to have Mikey’s father, Abdi, a wealthy Somalian, back in her life.
Unfortunately, that’s what she gets. Since he has no children of his own, Abdi
comes back to take Mikey away and make him his heir. Vera has other ideas. To
force her hand, Abdi claims to have evidence that Vera is responsible for the
murder of her former boyfriend’s father. If she doesn’t turn over the boy,
he’ll turn the evidence over to the police. To help Vera, Ellie tries to find
the real killer and, in doing so, kicks a hornet’s nest. The night Dr. McKenzie
was killed was also the night Mikey was conceived, after someone passed a
doctored drink to Vera and she was raped by several of her schoolmates,
including Abdi. Vera and Dan McKenzie broke up, even though he wasn’t involved
in the rape. Now Ellie’s investigation reopens Vera and Dan’s old wounds. It
also threatens the domestic tranquility of the remaining rapists. Raff Scott
was killed in Afghanistan, but Jack the Lad owns a successful music shop, and
Simon Trubody is thinking of standing for Parliament. With so many ranked
against her, how can Ellie possibly prevail?

Improbabilities
aside—would a British solicitor really put in writing an offer to withhold
evidence from the police?—Ellie’s latest outing turns out to be a tempest in a
teapot.

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